Eko Eko Azarak is the opening phrase from aWiccan chant. It is also known as the "Witch's chant", the "Witch's rune", or the "Eko Eko chant".[1] The following form was used byGerald Gardner, considered as the founder of Wicca as an organized, contemporary religion.
TheEko Eko chant appeared in his 1949 occult novel,High Magic's Aid.In Chapter XVII, it was used in first-degree initiation.[2]
Another variant of the chant expanded theEko, eko opening to four lines, using these words to salute various Wiccandeities, typicallyCernunnos andAradia.[3][4] Other combinations includeKarnayna and Aradia,Hern andHecate,Osiris andIsis, and Kernunnos and Arida.[1]
By the mid-1980s, there were many versions of theEko Eko chant used by Wiccans, some with alternate spellings for Azarak and Zomelak.[1]
There are two sources for the text Gardner used to make this chant.
The opening lines, with their repeatedEko eko refrain, apparently come from an article published in a 1921 edition of the journalForm[5] byJ. F. C. Fuller, on "The Black Arts", reprinted inThe Occult Review in April 1926, though "The Occult Review" 1923 is frequently mis-cited. See Hutton's sources. Fuller's version goes:
Fuller gives no source for this spell.
InEight Sabbats for Witches (1981), the Janet and Stewart Farrar provided a version of theEko Eko chant which they received from Doreen Valiente.[4]
In private correspondence to the Farrars, Valiente explained that this was the version Gardner had given to her.[4]
The second source is a thirteenth-century Frenchmiracle play,Le Miracle de Théophile, by thetrouvèreRutebeuf. The original text from the French play is given to the character Salatin — apparently a version ofSaladin — who in this play is labelled asorcerer; Salatin uses these words toinvoke theDevil:
The meaning of the source texts is unclear.Pennethorne Hughes, in his 1952 monograph onWitchcraft, claimed that the text fromLe Miracle de Théophile is a garbled version of aBasque language original.[8] Michael Harrison, inThe Roots of Witchcraft, attempted to give a more specific interpretation of the entire chant in Basque; his translation has the chant speak of flying through the air,sacrifice,feasting and drinking, and then washing the dishes.[9]Victor Anderson, the blind poet and founder of theFeri Tradition, claimed thatEko is Basque, meaning "here is".[10] According toRaven Grimassi, some Wiccans believe that the chant is an invocation of the forces of thefour elements.[11]
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TheEko Eko chant is well enough known outside of Wicca proper to provide the title of amanga, also adapted into a TV series and several live-action films,Eko Eko Azarak (エコエコアザラク), also known by the titleWizard of Darkness.Electric Wizard, adoom metal band from England, recorded a song called "Eko Eko Azarak" on their 2004 albumWe Live.The chant also appears at the start of the albumBarathrum V.I.T.R.I.O.L byblack metal bandAbsu. A variation of the chant was also featured in the 1971Doctor Who serialThe Dæmons, and Shelley Winters' character, Mrs. Erica Hunter, uses the phrase "Eko Eko Azarak" in a ceremony in the 1978 TV movieThe Initiation of Sarah. It is also used in the 1985 movieHowling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf. British bandCloven Hoof used the phrase in the lyrics of their eponymous song "Cloven Hoof." The chant is used in scenes depicting Wiccan ceremonies the 2016 filmThe Love Witch.
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